Porn Star Commits Suicide After Being Bullied Online for Refusing to Have Sex with Man Who Shot Gay Porn

August Ames, a 23-year-old rising star in the adult film industry, was bullied online after she tweeted a message discussing her refusal to have sex with a man who did gay porn. She committed suicide by hanging on Tuesday, with the cause of death being identified by the medical examiner as asphyxiation.

As reported by Fox News, Ames began working in the porn industry in 2013, quickly rising becoming a star partially due to her large social media following. Friends believe that her social media presence, particularly the recent bullying Ames experience over one particular tweet, contributed to her decision to take her life.

On December 3, Ames posted a tweet warning “whichever (lady) performer is replacing me” in a shoot scheduled for December 4 that the man who was scheduled to be in the scene “has shot gay porn.”

“Whichever (lady) performer is replacing me tomorrow for @EroticaXNews, you’re shooting with a guy who has shot gay porn, just to let cha know. BS is all I can say,” wrote Ames. “Do agents really not care about who they’re representing? #ladirect I do my homework for my body.”

After it was released, responses began pouring in, some of which accused her of being homophobic, with many people asserting that the decision is “a safety thing” while others stated that gay porn follows the same safety standards, such as HIV testing, as straight porn.

While Ames did apologize for potentially offending anyone in some of her replies, she stated, My body, my rules.

She then felt compelled to defend her position, crafting another tweet, which read: “NOT homophobic. Most girls don’t shoot with guys who have shot gay porn, for safety. That’s just how it is with me. I’m not putting my body at risk, I don’t know what they do in their private lives.”

She followed up that tweet with another, saying, “How am I homophobic if I myself am attracted to women? Not wanting to have sex with gay men is not homophobic; they don’t want to have sex with me either, so byeeeee.”

Ames also stated that she didn’t “have anything to apologize for,” in a follow-up tweet.

Some other industry professionals came to Ames defense, stating that they have the right to “turn down” a performer for a variety of reasons.

After news of Ames’ death broke, fellow porn stars slammed the online mob that bullied her, including one post that stated, “A beautiful life is GONE because people like to use their ‘fan base’ to bully others because THEIR opinion doesn’t agree with YOURS.”